


Black Friday

by LinksLipsSinkShips



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Black Friday, Cookies, Fluff, Gen, Taking Care of the Kids, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 10:52:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13075335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinksLipsSinkShips/pseuds/LinksLipsSinkShips
Summary: Left alone with the kids for the day, Rhett and Link try to make it work.





	Black Friday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silverloveless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverloveless/gifts).



> Happy Holidays, silverloveless!

“I’m just sayin’, it’s not babysitting when you’re watching your own kids,” Link said into the phone. “It’s only babysitting if it’s someone else’s kids. When it’s  _ your  _ kids, it’s being a parent. Anyway, all I’m sayin’ is it’s gonna be easier if we do it together. If you think you can handle the boys on your own, be my guest, but I think you’ll be better off bringing them here.”

“What are you trying to say, Link? That I can’t handle them on my own? Because it kind of sounds like you’re worried about dealing with your three and need my help,” Rhett dug back. It was a good idea, doing it together, but he couldn’t resist teasing Link a little bit.

“ _ I  _ can handle it, and you should be thanking me for the brilliant idea.”

“Christy came up with it, didn’t see?” The silence on the other end of the line indicated that it was a yes, that Christy had suggested both of the boys watch the kids together while she and Jessie went shopping for Christmas gifts.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Rhett.” Link didn’t wait for an answer, hanging up before Rhett could say no.

Well before sunrise the next morning, Rhett found himself in the car on his way to Link’s house, driving with Jessie in the passenger seat. In the backseat of the SUV, both kids were bundled up, or as bundled as anyone ever needed to be in the warm southern California air. His ideal way of spending the day after Thanksgiving would be to sleep in, catch some TV later in the day, and just relax. Of course, that wasn’t how he  _ would  _ be spending it, but he found himself daydreaming of that on the drive. After the amount of turkey and gravy he’d eaten for lunch, dinner, and a late night snack or three, all he wanted to do was go back to bed. He was positive it was the tryptophan coursing through his veins, but he wasn’t about to protest, not verbally. Jessie deserved the day off from her constant care of the kids. Besides, he could be home trying to watch the boys alone, or he could be managing it with Link, and when he thought of it that way, spending the day at the Neal’s house didn’t seem half bad. Christy was a great cook, too, and he was certain she’d be leaving them with plenty of leftovers for lunch.

As the McLaughlin clan filed into his house, shedding hoodies and shoes just inside the door, Link passed Rhett the most caffeinated cup of tea he had. Link was barely awake, rubbing his eyes and chugging coffee like it was going out of style. The tea and coffee did little to wake them up, but it was a start. The kids, on the other hand, were wide awake and the youngest of them were causing plenty of mayhem before Jessie and Christy had even made it out of the front door.

Christy gave Link a peck on the cheek, and a reminder that leftovers were in the fridge for lunch. Rhett couldn’t help but smile-- he was right, he’d be getting leftovers. But once the girls were gone, Rhett and Link were left to their own devices, and the kids, for the bulk of the day. Link turned in time to catch the panicked expression on Rhett’s face. They were very rarely the sole caretakers of the children for a few hours, only on one or two weekends where the girls had gone to a women’s retreat while they took the kids camping or on a small excursion. But here, they were at home, and they didn’t have the mercy of a hike or a camp to set up to use as a way to entertain or distract the kids.

By mid-morning, a chorus of “I’m bored!” broke out, a smattering of board game pieces, cards from abandoned games of UNO, and toys long discarded on the ground.

“Rhett, help me out here,” Link encouraged. Rhett was busy scrolling through comments on their latest video, distracted and waving a hand toward Link. “Rhett, seriously. Help me out here.” Link’s teeth were gritted now, and his hand gripped Rhett’s shoulder. He was  _ not  _ doing this alone. Rhett finally snapped to attention, stuffing his phone in his pocket. “Any ideas, man?” Link asked.

“I dunno, Link. What about a movie?”

Link sighed and rolled his eyes in response, turning toward the kitchen. He was certain he’d seen Christy buy supplies for a handful of Christmas activities for the upcoming holiday season, and he was convinced she wouldn’t mind if they pulled one out and entertained the kids with it. At this point, he was desperate for something, anything, as he heard a loud crash ring out from the living room, followed by shushing and blame-passing from the youngest boys. He needed something, and fast. As he opened one last cabinet, he found the supplies-- sprinkles in all colors, shapes, and sizes, frosting, and cookie mixes. It would have to work.

“Hey, Rhett,” Link called, trying to get him to come help. As Rhett stepped into the kitchen, Link tossed him a sugar cookie mix. “Help the kids bake this and I’ll decorate it with them.”

“No way, man. I don’t get involved in children’s activities,” Rhett said.

“You are seriously  _ not  _ trusting me with an oven, are you? Do you really think we will have edible cookies if I’m in charge of this project?” Link couldn’t believe Rhett, couldn’t believe that he was leaving Link on his own with this.

“Ask Lily for help, man, I don’t know.”

“You’re helping them, end of story. It sounds like I have a vase to clean up.” Link wasn’t letting Rhett off the hook-- he was going to chip in, and he was going to do it right. As he cleaned up the broken glass in the living room, he heard Rhett grumbling and telling Lando to stop tasting the powdered mix while instructing Shephard to add the oil. His grumbling, though, turned to soft tones of pride as he told Lily how great she was at cracking the eggs without any shells.

“You belong on one of those shows, what is it, Master Chef? Top Chef?”

Link could practically hear the smile in Lily’s voice as she thanked Rhett and told him she had lots of practice helping in the kitchen. As Link turned the corner from the living room, he saw the six of them standing around the bowl, taking turns mixing. He emptied the dustpan of glass into a bag, taking note of the mixture streaked across cheeks and clothing, hands and the counter itself. He wasn’t sure how many cookies they’d get from the mix, but he was thankful he’d pulled the one marked “family size” out of the pantry, thinking they should at least end up with one for each of them.

As the cookies cooled, Lily plucked sprinkles and frosting from the cabinets.

“Dad, can we use the red frosting  _ and  _ the green frosting? It isn’t Christmasy enough without both of them.”

Link hesitated to open two containers of frosting, knowing they’d get half-used and go to waste, money down the drain, but the pleading look on Lily’s face was hard to resist.

“Come on, Link, how could you say no to that face?” Rhett rested his hand on Link’s shoulder, and Link gave in, giving his approval for her to use both. Link helped them frost the cookies, cringing at the number of sprinkles falling onto, and then scattering across, the floor. He wanted to tell Rhett that it was his turn to sweep, that he’d be responsible for the sprinkles since Link had fielded the glass, but he knew that Rhett likely wouldn’t clean the floor to his strict standards. Instead, he waited patiently for the cookies to be frosted so he could clean up the mess. He wiped counters and swept the floor. As he looked at the clock, he realized they’d made it to two in the afternoon. If they could hold off another hour, the girls would be home from shopping, and they’d have successfully handled the kids for the entire day.

Rhett was the first to pull the leftovers from the fridge, which made Link remember-- he’d forgotten to make the kids lunch. They’d gone from toys to cookies without anyone thinking about actual food, and as the sugar high started to kick in with no hearty meal to balance it, he was kicking himself.

Lily was happy enough to help with the plates, making turkey sandwiches for each of the boys, and for herself. Link wasn’t sure what he’d do without her, but he realized that she would have likely babysat the lot of them better than he and Rhett were doing. He owed her  _ big time _ .

Link’s phone pinged, but he had no time to check it, trying to pass plates to each of the kids and insisting they sat at the table, not in the living room, so no crumbs would fall into the couch cushions. He didn’t think he had it in him to vacuum the couch today if they ate in there. Rhett scarfed down his food and went for seconds before Link had even taken a few bites of his own, reminding everyone to use their napkins, to stop wiping their mouths on their sleeves, and to stop, for the love of God, stop wiggling so much.

“Relax, Link,” Rhett said, quietly reminding Link that they were just kids and it was  _ fine _ . Link didn’t know how Rhett could be so chill until he remembered that Rhett was now well-fed and no longer hangry, while he had barely picked at his own meal. He ate it, trying to ignore the escalating energy levels of the kids in front of him. He tried suggesting that they go outside in the backyard, play with Nerf guns or something, anything, to help with the sugar high from the two jars of frosting they had somehow managed to use entirely.

With no luck, Rhett suggested a movie instead, and told Lily to go pick something. As he cleared the plates, Link ran the sink, rinsing each one thoroughly-- so thoroughly he may as well have hand-washed them instead-- before loading them into the dishwasher. Link could hear the opening lines of the movie Elf playing through the television, and when he was done with the plates, he saw Rhett on the couch, the kids all piled onto the floor in front of him. He settled in next to Rhett with a heavy sigh. The day was almost done, and all of the kids were alive, intact with no major injuries. The house hadn’t burned down. Everyone was well-fed. They may not have been the best caretakers in the world, and there was the vase that had died a noble death, but aside from one small glass casualty, they’d done pretty well.

Rhett was pretty sure Buddy hadn’t even made it to New York City yet before Link’s mouth fell open, his jaw going slack and his eyes closing as his head leaned against Rhett’s shoulder. Rhett tried to keep his eyes open, taking one quick selfie of the two of them, him awake, Link sound asleep and practically drooling on him. He didn’t post this one, not wanting to use it for blackmail, but instead to keep for himself, a small reminder that they were pretty good dads after all. Rhett didn’t need to watch the movie to know that the best way to spread Christmas cheer was singing loud for all to hear, and since he’d seen the movie a thousand times before, he let himself rest his own head against Link’s as his eyes slipped shut.

Christy honked the horn in the driveway, praying the guys would come help them unload the car, transfer Jessie’s gifts to her own vehicle. The horn honking elicited no response, so she tried again. As the front door opened, Lily poked her head out and raised a finger to her lips, an effort to shush the honking. Christy looked at her with a puzzled expression as she locked the car, entering the house with Jessie close behind. As she got inside and shrugged her jacket off, she saw them-- Rhett and Link, sound asleep with the movie long over. The boys were in the backyard, visible from the glass doors that led to the patio, firing Nerf guns at each other like their dads had suggested before the movie.

“They did good, mom,” Lily whispered. Jessie and Christy shrugged at each other as Christy picked up a throw blanket from one of the recliners, draping it over both men. Neither of them stirred in the slightest.


End file.
